AB0847 Profile of Spondyloarthritis in the Moroccan population: Results of a multicenter study
Authors: H. Arabi, A. Mougui, H. Sahimi, N. Takhrifa, S. Mouhcine, I. Bentaleb, H. Taoufik, T. Harzy, F. Abourazzak, S. Janani, R. Bahiri, A. Bezza, I. Ghozlani, R. Niamane, I. El Bouchti
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2022)

Background Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a frequent group of chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases, their epidemiology varies considerably in different regions of the world. Objectives The aim of our study was to describe the epidemiological, clinical, paraclinical and therapeutic profile of SpA in the Moroccan population. Methods This is a multicenter descriptive study, including patients followed for SpA. 8 hospital centers participated in this study. All data were measured by standard instruments. Results Seven hundred patients were included, 54% were men, the mean age was 40.42±14.19 years at the time of diagnosis [14 years-90 years]. The patients lived in urban and rural areas in 83.5% and 13.8% of cases, respectively. 38.4% were without occupation. A history of tuberculosis was noted in 5.9% of cases. Associated pathologies were autoimmune in 2.3% and neoplasia in 1.5% of cases. 15.6% of patients were smokers. A family history of SpA was noted in 11.7%, psoriasis in 1% and Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in 0.6% of cases. The average diagnostic delay was 59.76 months [0-444 months]. The revealing symptomatology was axial in 19%, peripheral in 10.1%, enthesitis in 0.4%, and a combination of the 3 forms in 22.1% of cases. Dactylitis was noted in 2.3% of cases. SpA was non-radiographic in 14% of cases. The forms of SpA were: ankylosing spondylitis (80.1%), IBD associated with SpA (9.4%), psoriatic arthritis (6%), and undifferentiated SpA (4%). Juvenile SpA accounted for 15.5% of cases. The prevalence of HLA-B27 was 65.51%. The mean BASDAI (Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index) was 4.42 ± 1.67 and the mean ASDAS (Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score) was 3.19 ± 1.24. Systemic involvement was dominated by uveitis (11.3%), followed by IBD (9.4%), restrictive syndrome (2.7%), renal involvement (0.6%) including amyloidosis (0.1%), IgA nephropathy (0.4%), interstitial nephropathy (0.1%), and aortic insufficiency in 0.2% of cases. The most commonly used treatments were non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (81.7%), sulfasalazine (24.2%), methotrexate (22.9%) and 31.8% of patients were on biotherapy. Surgery for arthroplasty was necessary in 5.6% of patients. Conclusion This is a study of the clinical and demographic characteristics of Spondyloarthritis in a population in Morocco, on which a large scale data base could be initiated, in order to better determine the role of genetic and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of the disease. References [1]Sharip A, Kunz J. Understanding the Pathogenesis of Spondyloarthritis. Biomolecules. 2020 Oct 20;10(10):1461. [2]Slimani S, Hamdi W, Nassar K, Kalla AA. Spondyloarthritis in North Africa: an update. Clin Rheumatol. 2021 Sep;40(9):3401-10. [3]Wang R, Ward MM. Epidemiology of axial spondyloarthritis: an update. Current Opinion in Rheumatology. 2018 Mar;30(2):137-43. Disclosure of Interests None declared